Mona Kane Croft

With all the vodka and alcoholism references, is it possible Claire and Aunt Jordon have something to do with Nikki's past as an alcoholic? Did Nikki ever kill anyone while driving drunk? Or hurt anyone in some other way, during her heavy alcohol use? Perhaps Claire and Aunt Jordan are connected to Nikki through her addiction. Who knows??

I watched the "Amanda is born, and Iris is adopted" episode live, and it did certainly come "out of the blue," with no foreshadowing whatsoever. At the time, it did seem a bit too plot-driven for Another World, and Lemay's style of nearly plotless writing. But I think the fans accepted it because we were starving for any kind of real storyline. Just as we had accepted the Sven storyline a few months earlier. "Please give us a real plot, Mr Lemay -- please . . pretty please." so he finally gave it to us, and we accepted it. Within a few weeks , viewers saw how well crafted this new plot was coming along, and suddenly we we were completely engaged. Who was Iris's real mother? And would Iris ever find her??

The later retcon (in 1989) was unnecessary, and frankly insulting to the long-term viewers. We will probably never know if the retcon was written by Lemay (who had left-behind his long-term story projections), or by Donna Swajeski (who was credited as head-writer during the retcon explanation episodes). Yes, Lemay's idea was genius. And yes, no writer today would take that kind of risk, because soap operas no longer take themselves seriously. When was the last time you cried during a soap opera scene? That's a serious question . . .

Of course, Sylvie was Jewish. Harding Lemay says in his book that he created Sylvie as a Jewish character, and he wanted to write Iris as anti-Semetic (ashamed of her Jewish biological mother). But NBC or P&G balked at the idea, so he simply never mentioned the word Jew or Jewish in any of the scripts, but continued to write Sylvie exactly as he had planned. Sylvie was Jewish, most certainly. The problem for TPTB wasn't Sylvie being Jewish. The big problem was allowing Iris to be anti-Semetic. So all references to Judaism were dropped from the scripts, but Sylvie was written and played as Jewish, and Iris's disgust was obvious but unexplained -- especially during the early months after Sylvie's introduction.

Damn. Are you Harding Lemay returned from the dead? You have a great understanding of psychological drama! Please write me a soap . . .

Interesting. I wonder if Pamela Toll was still acting throughout the duration of Another World. She could have resumed in the role.

Fantasy casting: Sharon Gabet as Pamela Davis, rather than as Brittany Peterson (or whoever she was). Pam comes to Bay City, a difficult woman who considers herself a failure -- resentful of her wealthy older sister who never offered help. To make matters worse, Rachel doesn't even recognize Pam at their first meeting. Relationship off to a great start!!

There was a report in the soap press back around 1984-85, that AW was planning to bring Pam Davis to the canvas. Supposedly casting process had already begun. But the plans were obviously changed, and it never happened.

Just my opinion but here is my logic: The people who wrote Steve Frame's return from the dead obviously knew almost nothing about Steve's real history. And I'd speculate, very little about Mac Cory's real history. So when they tried to say Steve was richer than Mac, it just seemed ridiculous to me, and I had no respect for those writers. They wrote Steve almost as if he was an entirely new character, with an existing name. So when I talk about Steve and Mac and their history, I am usually referring to their history until about 1979-80 -- really their origin stories. And at that point Frame Enterprises was a significantly smaller company than Cory Publishing, which had offices all over the world. Plus Steve was a self made millionaire, while Mac's fortune went back at least two generations before him. I do realize much of that was altered by later writers. There were some idiot writers who even tried to say Mac had been a self made millionaire. I'm really not trying to insist on anything, I am just old and grumpy. LOL

Yes, especially for such a minor offense, perjury. And such a shame he never returned to AW. Gerald was always after Steve Frame's money. Can you imagine how he would have reacted if he knew Rachel had married the even wealthier MacKenzie Cory??!!

Interesting question about character references. I do remember Robert often referenced his dead wife and the son they had lost (from Somerset) while he was on AW. He did this often with Lenore, but not sure he mentioned them again after Lenore left the show. Regarding Gerald Davis, you probably know he came to AW as a contract character in 1973-74 and stayed for a year or so. And when he left, he was sent to prison. He did not return to Somerset -- at least not in the script. After Gerald's exit from AW, he wasn't mentioned often -- and soon not at all, at least by name. In 1979 Rachel and Ada had a very poignant scene about Rachel growing up without a father, and Gerald was mentioned but not by name. Also, Ada referenced Gerald in 1989 during the Valentine To Singles stand-alone episode (yuck!), but again, she did not say his name. I'm confident the Cushings were never mentioned again on AW. Somerset was almost never mentioned on AW after Cenedela left the head-writing job. Ogden became a nearby city during Hardling Lemay's run on the show, and Ogden was mentioned continuously. It's likely only Robert Delany and Sam Lucas ever mentioned Somerset while Lemay was writing.

Yes, the "Ignore" feature has been misunderstood by many (or at least by me). The Ignore feature here is not a true "Block" option, as you might have on other sites, or even Facebook. The Ignore option here simply means you will not see the ignored person's posts. But they will still see your posts, and can still comment. Anyone who expects "Ignore" to function as a "Block" option will be disappointed. I'm just trying to clarify, without stirring-up trouble.

When it comes to listing "firsts" on various soap operas, it seems people have the attitude, "If I don't remember something, then this must be a first." When in many (if not most) cases, it isn't a "first" at all. I don't remember any divorced women on soap operas before Lisa Hughes, so I'm going to publish that Lisa was the first divorced woman on a soap. LOL.

She said RH was the first soap opera set in New York City, and the first soap opera to be set in a real location. Both incorrect. She also said the Ryan's were the first identifiable ethnic family on a soap opera, and that Mary Ryan was the first female journalist on a soap opera. Also both incorrect. When MdL starts spouting out "firsts," she really seems to go off the rails. She needs an editor or a researcher.

Was Bay City ever said to be in Michigan? Is Marlena monitoring this message board and cursing those who disagree with her? LOL.

I completely agree. And by the way, was AW's Bay City ever said to be in Michigan? LOL. I really don't think Marlena is monitoring your responses. Really.

Truthfully, I doubt Wyndham was any more difficult than other soap stars of her era -- Slezak, Luci, Courtney, Fulton, Seaforth, etc. Although I do remember a couple of print interviews with David Canary upon his exit from AW, in which he said the "star" of the show was a very unhappy person who made life in the Brooklyn studio difficult for most of the other actors --and that he was happy to have been released from his contract. So, there's that to consider. Does anyone think Canary may have been referring to Doug Watson??

What does Robin Christopher have to do with anything? You obviously don't even understand the basis of my statement. So let's just stop.

I base my response on viewing their responses to questions over the years in online forums, Facebook groups, and a couple of podcasts. I won't retype my earlier comment, but go back and read it. If you don't believe me, ask Dano about Wyndham, or ask Cheatham about Mary Stuart. Let's see how they respond. And by the way, I love Wyndham and Stuart. Also adore Dano and Cheatham.

I would really like to hide my posts from another poster. Is that impossible on this platform?

Off topic, I know. But how do I block another poster on this message board? I've tried everything, but I'm sure there must be a way to do it. Help, please . . .

It was Wyndham. Dano protects Wyndham the same way Maree Cheatham protects Mary Stuart. And that is by simply never mentioning their name(s). But when either is pushed into a corner and must acknowledge either Wyndham or Stuart, the response is always -- "Oh, dear Vicky" or "Oh, dear Mary" with little additional comment. It's an unusual kind of protection that I'm not sure I understand. But I have noticed it many times with both Dano and Cheatham. So go figure. . .

Wow! Marlena De Lecriox has lost my respect as any sort of soap opera expert or historian. Remember the historical misinformation about Ryan's Hope she tried to spread on her blog a couple of weeks ago? Well now she has moved on to Another World with her historical falsities. In her most recent blog, Marlena states the following: Another World "was the first soap to be set in a real place – Bay City, Michigan – and the first to portray authentic working-class life." Both claims are false. First, AW's Bay City was never officially said to be in Michigan, although most fans assumed for years that Michigan was its location (until, in the early-1980s, when AW's writers officially placed Bay City in Illinois). And even if Michigan had been AW's canonical locale, AW still would not have been the first soap ever located in a real place. And second, Another World was not the first soap to portray working-class life. Although the word "authentic" is too subjective to even include in the conversation. Who gets to decide what authentic means on daytime drama? There were certainly well-written working-class families on some soap operas before Another World. Although Marlena's blog posts are often enjoyable and right on target, why does she feel the need to throw-in all these historical inaccuracies (first Ryan's Hope and now Another World)?? She clearly has strong opinions about the genre (most of which I agree with). But she also needs to check her facts before she posts things that are untrue.

The very idea that the Hughes family owned a silver mine (despite their history as firmly middle-class) is/was ridiculous. Can you imagine Bill and Bert Bauer owning a silver mine? Joe and Ruth Martin owning a silver mine? Jim and Mary Matthews owning a silver mine? Mike and Nancy Karr owning a silver mine? Seems to me, the Dobsons absolutely lost their minds when they became head-writers at ATWT. This kind of crap might have worked on Santa Barbara, but not on ATWT. Dear God in Heaven!!!

Sorry, I did not mean to imply you were in favor of stand-alone episodes. I was just speaking in general terms about my dislike of stand-alone episodes, and how Marland used special events to draw back former viewers and "hook" them with ongoing plots. I do agree that Penny and Frannie are missed in this episode.